Saturday, July 29, 2017

Miyata Trail Runner shake down cruise and a Reckoning

Friday started with a trip to the hardware store to find a nut for the seat-post QR and a M6 nut with the right thread pitch was found.

And it was too big to fit the recessed hole in the frame, I could probably try sanding it down some but didn't want to tackle that yesterday, it could be the original set up was with a smaller QR bolt with a M5 nut or it could have been a custom size.

So I ended up just using what I bought at bike works to secure the seat post with no nut.

And bingo I've got a saddle and seat post mounted on the bike.

With the seat-post set up I decided it was time for shake down ride to a local pub for dinner, about a 8 block round trip so easy to walk in case something went off the rails.

First my nits to pick:

Saddle nose was a bit too high

I think the bars need to come up and back a smidgen.

I notice that there was a slight slip in the seat post from beginning to end of the ride so either the QR needs tightening or maybe the 26.6 post is the way to go.

The FD wouldn't shift to the big ring

The brakes were mushy because I'd not spent the time fine tuning them, the front straddle wire carrier needs to come up so it isn't resting on the front rack stay.

The good stuff

The fat tires just floated over the pavement which is what I was hoping for

Despite the need for tweaks I am in the ball park for fit, the frame is the right size, and I think will be very comfortable once I get things dialed in.

Pretty easy to swap the front bag from the HD over to the Miyata.

I am at a bit of a cross roads with the bike, what it really needs it a complete tear down and rebuild but there is the temptation to make some small tweaks and do some gravel/trail rides in the next few sunny months. We'll see.

Reckoning

One of my goals for my "free" time during unemployment was to de-clutter because A) the apartment needs it and B) in a worse case scenario I would need to move and having less stuff would make that easier. I'm starting a new job next week so option b is off the table but I still have work to do.

A big part of de-cluttering is dealing with bikes and bike parts which are in every room of my apartment, including the balcony, except for the kitchen and bathroom. And that is with the caveat that the Kitchen has the sonic cleaner which is only used on bike stuff and the bathroom, due to a quirky layout, has a two bike rack. I decided that storing steel bikes in a place that gets lots of steam is maybe not a good idea but rack is still there.

I have some ideas around moving bikes, selling off parts and going to the scrap yard to make things look a bit less like an episode of vintage bike hoarders but I also started to think about the bikes that have come through the apartment in the last five years.

In thinking about it I came up with about 30 bikes:

2012

2013

Bike

Status

Bike

Status

2009 Handsome Devil

Go to workhorse

Motobecane Mirage Frame

In queue

1980 Peugeot UO-10

Sold in 2014

Schwinn Traveller III Frame

In queue

Miyata 912

Sold in 2014

Schwinn Le Tour III

Built for sister-in-law

Curb find Raleigh

Frame scrapped parts to Mello yellow

Soma Smoothie

Built up for me then economics forced a sale

Raleigh Ladies 3 speed

Sold in 2014

Raleigh Reliant

Sold in 2013

Raleigh Men's 3 speed

Sold in 2014

Peugeot AO-8

Sold in 2014

Raleigh Record Mixte

Built up for my Niece

Fuji Royale

Sold in 2013

Velo Orange Rando

Sold in 2014

2014

2015

Bike

Status

Bike

Status

Torpado Alpha

In queue

1968 Raleigh Supercourse

rebuilt for friend in 2016

Peugeot UO-8 sports

sold in 2014

Peugeot Mixte

Built for daughter

1998 Cannondale Saeco

cleaned up and sold for friend

70s Motobecane Mirage

Half way through the rebuild process

Motobecane Grand Touring

In quiver

Raleigh Rapide Mixte

In queue

1970 Takara Sport

Flipped

2016

2017

Bike

Status

Bike

Status

Raleigh Junk bike

destined for scrap

1986 Miyata Trail runner

rideable

Gitane TdF

parted out in 2017

1984 Nishiki Cascade

In queue

1986 Passage

In quiver

1992 Ritchey Road

awaiting sale

1974 Nishiki Professional

frame will be scrapped and parts sold

I hope to get to a stage where I have my own bikes and then take on projects one at a time, that's the plan anyway.